Zanu PF upbeat as Zimbabwe election decision nears

Zimbabwean voters who queued to cast their ballots in the country's general elections in Harare, Zimbabwe. Image: REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

Zanu PF said on Thursday it was upbeat that the presidential election result outcome will be a reflection of its performance in the house of assembly.

The ruling party retained two-thirds of the majority in parliament in the poll‚ during which it gained ground in cities it fared badly in 2013. Out of 210 seats‚ Zanu PF has 145‚ the MDC Alliance 63‚ NPF 1 and 1 independent candidate‚ Temba Mliswa‚ returns to parliament as the only non-partisan to win a seat.

Zanu PF’s secretary for legal affairs‚ Patrick Chinamasa‚ believes they have it in the bag.

“We hope these results translate to what we get in the presidential poll‚” he said.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission was expected to release the presidential results late on Thursday night.

However‚ the MDC Alliance‚ whose supporters took to the streets on Wednesday and were met by the heavy hand of the army‚ argue that the poll has been stolen.

The claim is that a form called the “V11”‚ which is pasted outside each polling station for the purposes of making the vote count transparent‚ was not made public in 21 percent of the 10‚985 polling stations countrywide.